1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field guns. More specifically the present invention comprises a digital scope with horizontally compressed sidefields for a pistol or other gun.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various optical and digital scopes have been provided for pistols and other guns. Although scopes are commonly employed on rifles, scopes have yet to be widely used on pistols, particularly on pistols designed for use in close-combat, tactical situations. Pistols are a weapon of choice in close-combat situations because of their maneuverability and ease of use. Unlike a rifle, a pistol may be carried in an unobtrusive holster and quickly drawn to a shooting position when needed. Whether holstered or held in a shooter's hand, a pistol does not significantly limit the shooter's movement. In addition, the open-site nature of the weapon allows a shooter to quickly point the pistol at a target without the loss of orientation experienced by many people when looking through a conventional scope.
Although many of the proposed scopes for pistols improve target visibility, the use of prior art scopes on pistols has several drawbacks. As mentioned previously, some suffer a loss of orientation when looking through a scope. Also, there has traditionally been a trade-off between the degree of magnification provided by a scope and the field of view provided to the user. In many cases, the scope itself obstructs the user's view of the field, particularly the area of the field immediately adjacent to the magnified portion of the field. In addition, conventional digital scopes must be “activated” or “turned on” before the scope can be used. This often requires the user to complete the additional step of pressing an “on” button before pointing the pistol at a target. Because of the close-combat nature of the weapon, requiring additional preparation steps is a significant disadvantage. Thus, there remains a need for an improved scope which avoids the shortcomings of the prior art.